Ascendancy of Blood

by Eugie Foster

In a magic forest where deep shadows pulse across the surfaces of lace-veined leaves, and night blooms ripple in shades of swirling indigo, there is an enchanted castle. Courtiers, pages, cooks, and stable boys slumber as still as death, and a golden princess languishes in her rose-strewn bower, waiting for her prince charming.

But the princess sleeps with a black wood stake through her heart, and her petal-soft lips conceal a pair of razor fangs. Is the prince her savior or her ill-fated prey, lured to sinister purpose by a night fiend ruling a castle of the damned?

This is not the fairy tale you remember.

Genres: Vampires

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

I grew up in the Midwest, although I call home a mildly haunted, fey-infested house in metro Atlanta that I share with my husband, Matthew. After receiving my Master of Arts degree in Developmental Psychology, I retired from academia to pen flights of fancy. I also edit legislation for the Georgia General Assembly, which from time to time I suspect is another venture into flights of fancy.

I received the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, the 2011 and 2012 Drabblecast People’s Choice Award for Best Story, and was named the 2009 Author of the Year by Bards and Sages. The Dragon and the Stars anthology, edited by Derwin Mak and Eric Choi, with my story, “Mortal Clay, Stone Heart,” won the 2011 Aurora Award for Best English Related Work. My fiction has also received the 2002 Phobos Award; been translated into eight languages; and been a finalist for the Hugo, Washington Science Fiction Association, and British Science Fiction Association awards.

My short story collection, Returning My Sister’s Face and Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice, was published in 2009 and has been used as a textbook at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of California-Davis. Check out my fiction index for a list of all my published and forthcoming works.

I am represented by literary agent William Reiss of John Hawkins & Associates, Inc., and I’m a voting member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), the non-profit writers organization founded by Damon Knight in 1965 and presenter of the Nebula awards.

I also keep a blog where I indulge in self-absorbed musings and document my writing progress, and I post regular updates on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.

Reviews

[Elke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story adds some fang to Sleeping Beauty, the classic fairy tale. What if Sleeping Beauty was a vampire waiting to be awakened from her death sleep? Read and find out!

Note: the story is out of print, but an ebook version is available on the author's homepage.

[FicusFan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short story in chapbook form. It was a dark and twisted re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale with vampires. It was also updated with some modern attitudes, and ended with a twist.

I enjoyed it, but of course found it too short. I liked the writing and the characters.